]]>https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2015/05/10/in-memory-of-donj-2/feed/0Elin Carlsonhttps://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2015/05/10/in-memory-of-donj-2/Devil’s Canyonhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GeocachingWithEmcOfNorthridgeCa/~3/YoaadH1_Po0/
https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2014/09/04/devils-canyon/#commentsThu, 04 Sep 2014 21:16:32 +0000http://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/?p=4177I took an epic 11 mile hike up this fabulous scenic canyon on Aug. 23 with an intrepid band of cachers from the San Fernando Valley and Ojai! BWidget, Cachekidz!, 3rd Wheel, Feral Cat, and gsmX2 joined me for the 5 hours of dodging poison oak and breathing the fresh summer air, finding 27 caches along the way. We started at Devil’s Tongue just above the parking lot, and wound up overlooking the canyon and hillsides from Angle’s [sic] View of the Devil (Cyn). Along the way, I visited my own cache, Daniel Webster, my ammo can that got charred in the fire a few years ago.

Thanks to Scott Miller (gsmX2), we have a great video to remember the day by!

]]>https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2014/09/04/devils-canyon/feed/2Elin Carlsonhttps://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2014/09/04/devils-canyon/Santa Claushttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GeocachingWithEmcOfNorthridgeCa/~3/nRUSvlvXYBc/
https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/santa-claus/#commentsThu, 20 Dec 2012 16:00:56 +0000http://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/?p=4725What better way to celebrate the season than with a visit to Santa Claus, Indiana?

I saved this portion of my summer road trip to publish this week. The town must look quite magical during the Christmas holiday, so my sunny photos might not do it justice.

There are several town websites to explore.
This one doesn’t have many photos: Santa Claus IN.
This site has some history: History.
a HA! This site has a photo gallery: Celebration, but not many show a winter wonderland.
I guess I’ll have to get back there some December and see if it looks more like the North Pole.

There is an amusement park there, but I only peered in from the cache location outside.

Entering the town:

One of the two shopping centers, Kringle Place:

The post office, where they must receive many wonderful letters from around the world:

Town Hall:

… and the man, the icon, the Santa:

May your Christmas and New Year celebrations be filled with the magic of the season and many wonderful memories for years to come.

]]>https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/santa-claus/feed/1Elin CarlsonHoliday WorldSanta Claus, INKringle placeSanta's post officeSClaus town hallSantahttps://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/santa-claus/Virtuoso Geocachinghttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GeocachingWithEmcOfNorthridgeCa/~3/RKzLIsWLySs/
https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/virtuoso-geocaching/#commentsFri, 14 Dec 2012 01:41:09 +0000http://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/?p=4715About the same time that I started this blog, I also decided to write a book about my geocaching experiences. I finally got it done, edited, and published on Kindle today!

I’ll be adding photos here on my blog for each chapter, but in the meantime, enjoy reading all about the WHY of geocaching.

This book should entertain geocachers, and be perfect to hand to your muggle friends for them to get a sense of what our obsession is all about.

Please do leave a review on Amazon for me.

Bonus! Here’s my interview on local Fox 11 KTLA earlier this year:

]]>https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/virtuoso-geocaching/feed/1Elin CarlsonLRVGAhttps://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/virtuoso-geocaching/Durangohttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GeocachingWithEmcOfNorthridgeCa/~3/xSO7LftojmU/
https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/12/06/durango/#commentsThu, 06 Dec 2012 16:00:14 +0000http://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/?p=4698On my way from Colorado Springs to Phoenix, I drove through some of the most gorgeous scenery on the planet. Durango was a perfect place to stay over night and get a sense of the history of the area as well. It’s a mountain mining town, and reminds me of my own home town of Yreka, CA.

]]>https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/12/06/durango/feed/1Elin Carlson1palmer sign2palmer lobby3main st4druggist5bank6history7nobody8mountain9hotel10Durango steam trainhttps://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/12/06/durango/Colorado, the Beautifulhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GeocachingWithEmcOfNorthridgeCa/~3/fZJOosCXCeg/
https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/colorado-the-beautiful/#commentsThu, 29 Nov 2012 16:00:41 +0000http://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/?p=4679Driving from the cache at 11,200 feet to Durango was one of the most spectacular drives I’ve taken. After the days and days of flatness, it was a relief to be back in mountains, too, which is my natural habitat.

I always get a kick out of being at the Continental Divide – it’s an existential meeting of east and west, history and future, humidity and desert. Ha.

a rest area at the side of the road surrounded by loveliness

This vista point was the highlight of an already incredible drive!

]]>https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/colorado-the-beautiful/feed/1Elin Carlson1Spanish Peak2trees view3valley view4wooded trail5view pullout6donkey7continental divide8rest area viewvista 1vista 2vista 3https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/colorado-the-beautiful/So Much to be Thankful Forhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GeocachingWithEmcOfNorthridgeCa/~3/eRyKXhEcS5Q/
https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/11/22/so-much-to-be-thankful-for/#respondThu, 22 Nov 2012 16:00:41 +0000http://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/?p=4665This is always a time of reflection for me, and to that end, I took a look at my previous Thanksgiving geocaching blogs. I love seeing how much fun I’ve had and how many wonderful friends I’ve made over the last 9 1/2 years. Take a moment to click on the links for the full stories. I’ve included a photo from each to inspire you to walk back through time with me.

200814 Miles, now that’s a big number!

2009Happy Thanksgiving!

2010Giving Thanks

2011Thankful for our Veterans

2012
A preview of blogs to come, as I continue with my summer road trip:

]]>https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/11/22/so-much-to-be-thankful-for/feed/0Elin CarlsonusualsuspectsdadlisayrekarusticpalmlogSantaB&B pool viewhttps://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/11/22/so-much-to-be-thankful-for/The Jasmer Challengehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GeocachingWithEmcOfNorthridgeCa/~3/T-pTHNBj4s0/
https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/the-jasmer-challenge/#commentsThu, 15 Nov 2012 16:00:28 +0000http://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/?p=4646The Jasmer Challenge (Northern California Edition)
This is one of the most difficult challenges to complete because of the rarity of the earlier caches, therefore, I was relieved to see that I could pick up my three remaining qualifying finds on my road trip this summer. The penultimate cache was Mingo, the oldest existing geocache, and the final one was placed later that summer in one of the most spectacular places I’ve ever been.

I drove from Colorado Springs to Durango, and took a long detour to the Spanish Peaks. Several miles up a graded dirt road, I got to the trailhead and parked my Prius at 11,200 feet.

The cache is only about a half mile from parking, and the trail is mostly flat, so I knew I could accomplish the hike, even with no acclimation to the elevation.

I signed in at the trail head and struck out through the tall trees.

It was not just the scenery taking my breath away.

My goal was not to ascend the peak, but it was always in view.

The colors of some of the flowers were vibrant blue…

… and purple…

I’m glad it was a cloudy day, as the temperature was perfectly cool.

The cache was surrounded by ducs, but I’m not sure if they all were put there by geocachers.

THIS is the view from the cache.

A photo is clearly not sufficient.

I spent about a half hour up there, enjoying some salami and cheese and the surrounding spectacularness.

]]>https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/the-jasmer-challenge/feed/3Elin Carlson1-parking 11,200 ft2-trailhead elev3-register log5-plaque6-blue flowers7-purple flowers8-trail view9-ducs10-hill view12-summit mehttps://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/the-jasmer-challenge/Mingo!http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GeocachingWithEmcOfNorthridgeCa/~3/50gPgXfXwQg/
https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/11/08/mingo/#commentsThu, 08 Nov 2012 16:00:24 +0000http://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/?p=4621Mingo is a small town in Kansas. It’s also the oldest original active geocache. (The first cache ever placed now has a plaque there, and a replacement cache nearby.) As many before me have done, I planned this segment of my trip to pilgrimage to this famous cache, both for its historic longevity, and as one of the finds I needed to complete the Jasmer challenge. (More on that next week…)

I was surprised and curious as I entered the state, and still wonder where the fish are:

The town has only a couple of streets, and not all of them paved. Here’s a quick tour.

]]>https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/11/08/mingo/feed/2Elin Carlson1Kansas sign2Kansas flat4Kansas side road3old house5Mingo cache6holding Mingo7Mingo cache container8MIngo cache log9Mingo cemetery10Mingo church view11Mingo siloshttps://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/11/08/mingo/Malibu Viewshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GeocachingWithEmcOfNorthridgeCa/~3/DzBoQeNHnbw/
https://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/2012/11/01/malibu-views/#respondThu, 01 Nov 2012 16:00:29 +0000http://emcofnorthridge.wordpress.com/?p=4600Believe it or not, I’m STILL not done posting all of the stories and photos from my summer road trip, but I wanted to take a break and just let my subscribers relax with some the beauty of Corral Canyon. Not much to say about these, but I hope they serve to soothe what may be a stressful week for many of us for a variety of reasons.